[Health care in Spain and Europe. Basic health legislation]

The health system is part of the social system and is conditioned by health, political, educational and economical factors. In the European Union, the health assistance is in good situation, covering the disease-disability risk. Solidarity, equity and universality are the principles that govern the European health systems; public financing is of high relevance. The organization of these systems is ruled by each country; nevertheless, the countries of the European Union are carrying out sanitary reforms that follow common directives. In the medical assistance, the state members have decided to reach accessibility for all, quality and financial sustainability, without forgetting the demographic aging, the appearance of new technologies and therapies, or the improvement of the well-being and standard of life. The organization of the Spanish National Health System is based on policies of the community, fitting the normative frame to the communitarian laws and the present needs on health.